Come Meet Aspiring Author Carol Riggs!

I'm so pleased to have Carol Riggs on my blog today!

In case you don't much about her, we'll start with a picture.

And when you visit her awesome blog, you'll see this blurb about her.

I am now repped by the fantastic Kelly Sonnack of Andrea Brown Literary Agency! I write YA novels and live in southern Oregon with my husband. I'm also an artist with a Studio Arts degree. I worked for 6 years as a proofreader-typist for a book info company, and have critiqued for pay in addition to mutual critique swapping. I'm an active member of the SCBWI--the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. I'm a Christian whose faith affects my life.

Yeah, she just got her agent! It's so awesome and her blog is full of great critiques. I'm excited to pick apart her writer brain today. You should consider yourselves lucky too :)

Before I get off on a tangent, let's start the interview. Carol, what made you want to write?

Two high school English teachers started me on my writing journey. I learned to compose essays my sophomore year, and then I took fiction writing and sci-fi literature classes. I collected my first rejection slips for short stories at that time. I read Ray Bradbury's SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, and I was in love! His writing style is exhilarating. I like to write because it's freeing, creative, and rewarding. 

(Well said.)

What book are you reading right now and which one do you have lined up to read next?

I'm not reading anything now. I'm in turbo-revision mode while revising for my lovely new agent. I usually prefer NOT to read while I'm writing, because I have my own rhythm and voice, and when I read other novels I tend to absorb their rhythms and voice. So I prefer to do my reading "research" in between writing my own novels.  

(Totally understandable. It's a great method, one that I should adopt right now so I can finish revisions!)

Lined up next to read: MATCHED by Ally Condie. It's been on my TBR list for a while, plus Kelly my agent suggested I read it to check out the grandfather character (since I have one in my own novel). 

(Ooh, great suggestion!)

What's your favorite genre to write?

Hmm. Although I have written a few contemporary stories, I would say anything with a twist of surrealness or uniqueness to it. Which for me is magical realism, fantasy, sci-fi, or dystopian. I haven't tried paranormal, but I think I'd like it, for the reason that it's unique or unusual.

If you could pick the setting of one book to live in, which would it be?

Harry Potter? But mostly because I really, really want to be able to apparate. It would come in SO handy and save a lot of time. None of that silly driving and driving and driving to get places.

(Apparating would definitely be my choice of magical power as well! Think of all the time I could spend writing instead of driving in a car :))

Do you have any pet peeves while writing?

Interruptions! When I'm just getting the flow of something, whipping right along, I hate having to: answer the phone, rescue the laundry from dryer wrinkles, stop to make/eat lunch, etc. It makes me want to bite something, in a rabid-dog kind of way. (But I don't.)

(Haha! Wait. You actually try to get the clothes out before they get wrinkles? You rock. If the muse is going, nothing but my kids and hubby can stop me. Not even the phone, my stomach, and definitely not the laundry. But I usually write at a time that those aren't an issue either.)

What's your favorite:

Book: I can't choose just one. In adult fiction, I like Timothy Zahn's Star Wars trilogy as well as his THE GREEN AND THE GRAY. For recent YA/MG reads, I enjoyed THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak, ARTICHOKE'S HEART by Suzanne Supplee, SAVVY by Ingrid Law, THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins, and NEVERWHERE by Neil Gaimon.

Author: I don't really have a fave author, but I'm enjoying Neil Gaimon lately. He's so creative and imaginative! I love his sense of humor, too.

Thing about writing: Writing similes and metaphors, and trying to think of ways to express things in unique ways that will make people smile.

Time of day: Whenever I get to write!

And last, but not least, do you prefer fruity candy or chocolate?

If I had to choose, I'd say chocolate. But I'm not a chocoholic. While I adore Reese's peanut butter cups and Almond Joys, I'd select carrot cake, cheesecake, or custard-filled maple bars over chocolate any day. Slurp!

(Um yummy! I need to make those delicious treats an option for this question. As much as I love candy, a good cake with some yummy frosting can pull me away. It has to be really good though.)

Thanks so much Carol! If you want to get to know more about her, which you should, then check out her blog. And if you want the awesome agent story, go here.

Don't forget to enter my critique giveaway here. Have a great weekend!